Onsite Data Collection in Los Angeles: ZOOM Is Your Capture Site
Program managers sourcing a facility for an onsite data collection program need the same answers every time. Here they are for ZOOM Recording Studio, in the order a vendor review usually asks them. You bring the protocol and the participant release. We run the room. Programs are quoted per program.
The Capture Site at a Glance
- RoomZOOM I at 539 S Rampart Blvd, Westlake. A treated recording room with space for multi-speaker sessions and direct engineer monitoring.
- Audio chainNeumann U87, Neumann TLM 103 and Shure SM7B microphones, Universal Audio Apollo 8/x8, Pro Tools.
- Format24-bit WAV, 44.1 kHz by default and 48 kHz on request. One track per speaker for multi-speaker sessions. Raw takes unless your spec asks for processing.
- CrewOne engineer on every session: levels, monitoring, take log, technical retakes. Remote direction over Source-Connect if your team is not in Los Angeles.
- Track recordIn 2024 ZOOM ran a directed data collection program from April to June, more than 140 hours, including parallel sessions on the same day.
- ScheduleOpen 24 hours, every day. Program blocks are held before music bookings can take them, and the same block can recur each week until the program closes.
- Participants and intakeParticipant recruiting and scheduling on request. Each participant signs your release at the door, shows ID that matches it, and is entered in the session log.
- Vendor paperworkW-9 on request. Your NDA gets signed and your vendor questionnaire gets completed. Program details stay confidential.
- Getting hereOn-site parking. Rampart exit off the 101, about 8 minutes from the 10, 7 minutes from Downtown LA.
- Next stepSend the protocol, speakers per session, file spec, total hours and dates. You get back a calendar and a per-program quote; site visits are welcome.
What a Program Day Looks Like
A program day at ZOOM runs in fixed blocks. The engineer opens ZOOM I before the first participant arrives and checks every microphone input. Participants sign your release at the door and show ID that matches it. Each speaker sits at their own microphone, so every voice lands on its own track. During the session the engineer watches levels, notes each take in the log, and calls a retake only for a technical fault such as clipping or cable noise. At the end of the block, files are named and organized the way your spec asks and handed off through the delivery method your program uses.
Why a Treated Studio, Not an Office
Speech data is judged as much on what is missing from a recording as on what is in it: air handling, street noise, echo off bare walls. ZOOM I is an acoustically treated room, and its noise floor and room tone meet ACX requirements, the standard we hold our audiobook sessions to. It is the same room ZOOM uses for commercial voiceover and IVR prompts, so the setup is not improvised for your program. Every microphone and piece of equipment in the room is on our gear list.
Built for Multi-Week Programs
ZOOM has run a program like this before. From April to June 2024, a data collection program booked more than 140 hours across 43 bookings in our rooms, including four sessions running in parallel on a single day. That is why program hours are held as recurring blocks before the music calendar fills, and why intake and the take log work the same way in the last week as in the first.
Program FAQ
- What does ZOOM need from us to quote a program?
- The protocol, the number of speakers per session, the file specification, total hours and the date range. With those, ZOOM returns a calendar and a per-program quote.
- Can sessions run at night or on weekends?
- Yes. ZOOM is open 24 hours a day, every day, so program blocks can sit in evenings, overnight or on weekends, wherever your quotas need them.
- Who runs the room during a session?
- One engineer per session handles levels, monitoring, the take log and technical retakes. Remote direction over Source-Connect is available if your team is elsewhere.
- Where is ZOOM, and is there parking?
- 539 S Rampart Blvd in Westlake, Los Angeles, with on-site parking. Take the Rampart exit off the 101; Downtown LA is about 7 minutes away.
Booking a voiceover session instead? Go to voiceover recording.